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Mushrooms provide valuable nutrients, including fiber, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, selenium and copper. They are also low in both calories and energy density, making them a good way to fill up without going over your daily calorie limit. This allows you to lose weight and fat without feeling deprived.

Calories in Mushrooms

You can eat quite a few mushrooms without consuming many calories. A cup of raw sliced white mushrooms has just 15 calories, a cup of grilled sliced portabella mushrooms has 35 calories and a cup of cooked sliced shiitake mushrooms has 81 calories. Cooking mushrooms increases their volume, which is why a cup of cooked mushrooms has more calories than a cup of raw mushrooms.

Energy Density

Foods low in energy density, like mushrooms, have relatively few calories per gram, making them very diet-friendly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is the volume of food you put in your stomach that fills you up, not the number of calories. So if you fill up on foods low in energy density, you can eat fewer calories per meal and lose weight without feeling hungry between meals. Without exercise, however, about 25 percent of each pound you lose will come from muscle instead of fat.

Research Results

Switch out some of the meat in each of your meals with mushrooms, and you'll probably achieve better weight- and fat-loss results. A study published in "Appetite" in December 2013 found that people who substituted mushrooms for red meat consumed fewer calories and lost more weight and body fat than those who followed the control diet.

Adding Mushrooms to Your Diet

Add raw or cooked mushrooms to salads, wraps, soups or pasta. Swap out the pepperoni or sausage on your pizza for mushrooms and other low-calorie vegetables. For the best body-fat-loss results, use mushrooms instead of higher-calorie foods rather than just adding them to foods you already eat. If you don't want to replace all of the meat in your main dish with mushrooms, try replacing just part of the meat to lower the fat and calories while increasing the fiber. That way, you'll feel fuller on less food.

About the Author

Based in Massachusetts, Jessica Bruso has been writing since 2008. She holds a master of science degree in food policy and applied nutrition and a bachelor of arts degree in international relations, both from Tufts University.